The Massachusetts Pirates professional arena football team has signed defensive end Dajaun Drennon for the 2019 season. Drennon played 43 games at North Carolina from 2014-2017 and recorded 125 tackles with five sacks and two passes defended.

After college he went to the New York Giants rookie camp where he found that a player’s ability to excel mentally is what can set him apart from the rest.

“I always thought going into the process that the competition level would be way different but really it’s about picking up the game mentally, really getting into your playbook, learning your plays and knowing what the offense is doing before they do it.” So I would say that the mental aspect is a little more challenging, but as far as competition and skill sets go, it’s the same,” he said.

Most recently he was in training camp with the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football.

“The coaches said I performed as one of the top defensive linemen but it came down to a numbers issue. Now I’ll just use this chance with the Massachusetts Pirates to get more film, work on my craft and try to get back into the league, the AAF or the Canadian Football League if possible,” he said in an upbeat tone.

Pirates Director of Player Personnel and General Manager Jawad Yatim can’t wait to see Drennon in uniform.

"Dajaun is an exciting signing for us. He had a tremendous career at UNC in which he played in 43 games starting 33 of them along the defensive line mainly at the end spot including 13 starts his red-shirt freshman year. He was a consistent performer essentially posting the same numbers every season outside of his junior year in which he missed time due to injury. What sticks out on film is his motor and how active he is throughout the duration of the game. He rarely gives up on plays and pursues the ball well. He's a long, impressive looking athlete. He’s physical, powerful and sheds blocks well. He's still very young as he's only 24 and should be a nice contributor along our defensive front. We’re definitely glad to have Dajaun in a Pirates uniform this season," Yatim said.

Drennon has never played any arena football before, but he’s looking forward to the experience.

“There’s a lot of one on one. There’s only three linemen up front, so basically we have to get to the quarterback just a step quicker than it would be in the NFL. If anything, it will help my “get off” and I’ll be able to help my craft of getting to the quarterback faster,” he said.

Overall, he’ll bring a well-rounded game to the Pirates.

“I’m definitely the enforcer; I stop the run. Nothing gets outside of me and I’m a good pass rusher too.”

Drennon hails from southern New Jersey, the same area that produced three outstanding running backs who went on to play at Wisconsin; Ron Dayne, Corey Clement and current Badger Jonathan Taylor. Did he ever dream of being a running back?

The crazy thing is that Corey Clement was actually my 8th grade quarterback and I was a wide receiver. In high school I was a wide receiver and really half of my offers for college were for wide receiver and tight end, but I always wanted to play defense because you get to make your own plays. You don’t necessarily have to worry about a quarterback getting you the ball or having to block just to get the ball, it was really just make a play, so now I just play defense.”

The Massachusetts Pirates are members of the National Arena League (NAL). The Pirates play all home games at the DCU Center located at 50 Foster St. Worcester, MA. 01608. Pirate Nation Season Ticket Memberships for the 2019 season will be on sale in September. Pirate Nation Memberships start as low as $200.00. To become a Pirate Nation Season Ticket member or for more information on the Massachusetts Pirates please call (508) 452-MASS (6277), email contact@masspiratesfootball.com or visit www.masspiratesfootball.com. Single game tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com or the DCU Center Box Office. For group outings please call 508-452-MASS (6277). Follow the Pirates on Facebook at Facebook.com/MAPirates on Instagram @mass.pirates, as well as Twitter @mass_pirates.